Mesitine, sometimes also written mesitite, is an old name, not I.M.A. approved, used for the identification of ironrich magnesite with different iron percentage (Dana, 1911; Bayliss, 2011). Between the most famous samples collected in the mineralogical museum of Europe, mesitine of Traversella are amongst the most representative and beautiful, but sometimes the identification of the mineral specie was inferred mainly through provenience of the specimen, visual appearance and minerals association rather than with analytical determination. During a survey of some samples of the Regional Museum of Science in Turin, in a frame of valorization of the mineralogical collection coming from the localities of Brosso and Traversella (Torino, Piemonte, North West Italy) some old samples of this second locality (collected around 1850-70) were analyzed together with some freshly obtained samples (2010-2012) from the still open galleries existing in the Traversella mining complex, kindly provided by the Gruppo Mineralogico Traversella. Analysis were performed by mean of SEM-EDS and ICP-OES facilities in the Department of Earth Science at the Turin University. Results shows that only part of the samples previously identified as mesitine are really iron-rich magnesite, whereas a substantial amount of samples was actually dolomite; these carbonates coexist in the Traversella complex with calcite, siderite and sporadic ankerite. In the paper the authors will examine the presence of these carbonates in the mineralogical samples from Traversella, the role of the term mesitine in the mineralogical community and the complexity to achieve a secure identification on some carbonate samples coming from site with high geochemical complexity and mineralogical variability. The research was conducted within the project PROactive Management of GEOlogical Heritage in the PIEMONTE Region (www.progeopiemonte.it/en) co-founded by the University of Turin Compagnia di San Paolo Bank Foundation JCAPC - Progetti di Ateneo 2011 grant on line B1 "Experimental Sciences and Technology" (Project Id: ORTO11Y7HR, P.I. Prof. Marco Giardino). Dana E.S. 1911. The System of Mineralogy of James Dwight Dana and Edward Salisbury Dana, 1430 pp. Wiley & Sons. Bayliss, P. 2011. Glossary of obsolete mineral names. The Mineralogical Record Inc. 10 pp.
'Mesitine' and its relationship with other carbonates from Traversella Mine.
COSTA, Emanuele;BENNA, Piera;BITTARELLO, ERICA;CAMARA ARTIGAS, Fernando;DINO, Giovanna Antonella;ROSSETTI, Piergiorgio;RUBBO, Marco;
2014-01-01
Abstract
Mesitine, sometimes also written mesitite, is an old name, not I.M.A. approved, used for the identification of ironrich magnesite with different iron percentage (Dana, 1911; Bayliss, 2011). Between the most famous samples collected in the mineralogical museum of Europe, mesitine of Traversella are amongst the most representative and beautiful, but sometimes the identification of the mineral specie was inferred mainly through provenience of the specimen, visual appearance and minerals association rather than with analytical determination. During a survey of some samples of the Regional Museum of Science in Turin, in a frame of valorization of the mineralogical collection coming from the localities of Brosso and Traversella (Torino, Piemonte, North West Italy) some old samples of this second locality (collected around 1850-70) were analyzed together with some freshly obtained samples (2010-2012) from the still open galleries existing in the Traversella mining complex, kindly provided by the Gruppo Mineralogico Traversella. Analysis were performed by mean of SEM-EDS and ICP-OES facilities in the Department of Earth Science at the Turin University. Results shows that only part of the samples previously identified as mesitine are really iron-rich magnesite, whereas a substantial amount of samples was actually dolomite; these carbonates coexist in the Traversella complex with calcite, siderite and sporadic ankerite. In the paper the authors will examine the presence of these carbonates in the mineralogical samples from Traversella, the role of the term mesitine in the mineralogical community and the complexity to achieve a secure identification on some carbonate samples coming from site with high geochemical complexity and mineralogical variability. The research was conducted within the project PROactive Management of GEOlogical Heritage in the PIEMONTE Region (www.progeopiemonte.it/en) co-founded by the University of Turin Compagnia di San Paolo Bank Foundation JCAPC - Progetti di Ateneo 2011 grant on line B1 "Experimental Sciences and Technology" (Project Id: ORTO11Y7HR, P.I. Prof. Marco Giardino). Dana E.S. 1911. The System of Mineralogy of James Dwight Dana and Edward Salisbury Dana, 1430 pp. Wiley & Sons. Bayliss, P. 2011. Glossary of obsolete mineral names. The Mineralogical Record Inc. 10 pp.
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